Thursday, October 13, 2016

Patricia Barry Dead at 93

Patricia Barry

Actress, philanthropist and businesswoman Patricia Barry, who played memorable roles on Days of our Lives, Guiding Light and several other daytime soap operas, died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 93.

Barry made her daytime debut in 1954 in First Love, starring as Laurie James, and continued to work on various soap operas until the 1990s. Her many daytime roles included Addie Horton Williams on Days of our Lives; Viola Brewster in For Richer, For Poorer; Peg English ("The Cobra") on All My Children; "Miss Sally" Gleason in Guiding Light; and Isabelle Alden on Loving.

Born in Davenport, Iowa, Barry studied theater at Stephens College in Missouri and later studied with famed acting teacher Sanford Meisner in New York. She got her start on stage in the Broadway production of “Calico Wedding” and starred opposite Steve Allen in “The Pink Elephant.”

She eventually headed West to become a contract player for Warner Bros. She appeared in such films as Deception, The Beast With Five Fingers, The Man I Love, and Riders of the Whistling Pines,” along with plenty of B pictures in the late 1940s and early ’50s. She juggled film, Broadway, and touring stage work during this period.

Barry was a player in the 1950s TV anthology series including Playhouse 90, Studio One, The Alcoa Hour, General Electric Theater, and Goodyear Playhouse. She appeared in multiple episodes of The Rifleman, The Millionaire, and Perry Mason. She co-starred opposite Jack Klugman in the 1964-65 NBC domestic comedy Harris Against the World. Her later film roles included Send Me No Flowers, Kitten With a Whip, Dear Heart, American Gigolo, Safe at Home, and Twilight Zone: The Movie.

Patricia Barry played Addie on Days of our Lives,
opposite Bill Hayes's Doug.

Barry was active in Hollywood women's advocacy organizations, becoming an early member of Women in Film and founder of its international arm. She was also an active member of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and SAG. She served a long tenure on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences foreign film committee. She was feted with a lifetime achievement award from Women in Film in 1999.

She was married for decades to Philip Barry Jr., son of the playwright behind The Philadelphia Story and High Society. He passed away in 1998.

Barry is survived by her two daughters, Miranda Barry, a writer and former executive in charge of global Sesame Street productions; and Stephanie Barry Agnew; and two grandchildren.